Paul Manning (died 1995) was an American broadcast journalist. He worked closely with

Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American Broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broa ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a correspondent for CBS Radio, and with the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

later on in the war.

Biography

The Writing 69th

Manning flew at least one mission with the Eighth Air Force on Oct. 9, 1943. In February 1943, eight American civilian and military journalists participated in a training program with the United States Eighth Air Force. The goal of the program was to prepare the men for high altitude bombing runs over Germany. In a week-long training course over the skies of Bovingdon, England the men learned how to adjust to high altitude, identify enemy planes, and parachute. They were trained how to shoot weapons as well, despite the rule against non-combatant firing weapons in combat. The men of The Writing 69th, originally known as the Flying Typewriters or the Legion of the Doomed, included:

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

, Homer Bigart of the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' Gladwin Hill of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, Manning of CBS Radio, Robert Post of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Andy Rooney of the military paper '' Stars and Stripes'', Denton Scott of the military magazine '' Yank'', and William Wade of the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

. Those men prepared to fly their first mission on Feb. 26, 1943. American B-17s and

B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

s prepared to bomb a

Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the ...

aircraft factory in Bremen, Germany. Overcast skies diverted the group to the submarine pens at

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

, a secondary target. Six of the eight reporters in the program flew that day. Manning did not fly but Bigart, Cronkite, Hill, Post, Rooney, and Wade did. As the group neared Oldenburg, Germany the plane Post was in came under fire from German fighter planes. The plane exploded in mid-air, killing Post and eight others. Post's death disbanded the Writing 69th, though others, including Manning, did fly missions afterward.

Speechwriter

After the war he worked as a speechwriter for

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

Author

Manning's ''Martin Bormann — Nazi in Exile'' was published in 1981. In 1986, his book, titled ''Hirohito, The War Years'', was released. It detailed the relationship between

Emperor Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

and

General Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army. He served with distinction in World War I; as chief of ...

Books

*''Hirohito, The War Years'', Dodd, Mead (1986) ,

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...

(1989) *''Martin Bormann — Nazi in Exile'', Lyle Stuart Inc (1981),
PDF

References

External links

There are many recordings of Manning reporting for the

in the
United States Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service miscellaneous records
at the
Hoover Institution Archives

Martin Bormann – Nazi in Exile by Paul Mannning , AnimalFarm.org , WaybackMachine
American male journalists American war correspondents of World War II 1995 deaths Year of birth missing Place of birth missing American speechwriters {{US-journalist-stub